Black Atheists are Racist?

Yesterday was the National Day of Solidarity for Black Non-Believers. I heard quite a few people talking about it and, without exception, every single one of them said that the major purpose of the day is to focus on the difficulty of black non-believers finding other black non-believers to talk to.

So what? Why do they have to be black? Isn’t that an inherently racist position to take, that the only people that blacks can talk to are other blacks? Or maybe it’s the assertion by blacks that they feel most comfortable talking to other blacks. Both are racist positions to take. If someone white said that they only wanted to talk to other whites, they’d be called out for being a racist and rightfully so.

It’s the same problem that I have with Black History Month, which this also is. Yes, I acknowledge that traditionally, contributions by blacks have been downplayed, but much of that has been corrected. The solution to racism is not more racism, it is to correct the initial racism. If blacks and women have been treated badly in the history books, and that’s certainly been the case, then you fix the history books, you don’t create a holiday that is specifically racist against non-blacks. You cannot fix faults by creating other faults, you cannot fix racism by creating different racism.

I suppose it’s no surprise, considering that most vocal atheists are liberals and they typically hate white males and hold up traditionally downtrodden minorities (and women, who are not a minority, but certainly have been downtrodden), but in so doing, they typically create just as much racism and sexism as they complain about.

The only way to fix the problems are to stop playing games. If we’re supposed to be non-racist, then everyone has to be non-racist. That means that where white people can’t simply want to be around white people, black people can’t simply want to be around black people. Asian people can’t only want to be around Asian people and women can’t only want to be around women. If we want a color-blind or gender-blind world, we have to actually demand that it happens for everyone, not just “cis-gendered white privileged males”.

Enough with this racist nonsense. If we want to have a Day of Solidarity, don’t have it for black non-believers, have it for all non-believers. To do otherwise betrays the blatant racism that exists within liberalism.

6 thoughts on “Black Atheists are Racist?”

Myself being both a black man and an atheist and having a dad who was the grandson of a former slave, and having grown up in a mostly black community, I have a lot more insight into this matter than most. Back in the 1960s – 1980s the black community that I lived in, just like most other large intercity black communities, the number of churches outnumbered schools and grocery stores by about 100 to 1 – and back in the 1960s less than 1 out of 20 of the black Christians that I met, even knew what an atheist was. I was 15 in 1976 when I met the first black openly atheist family, and we became lifelong friends (they told me that I was the only other black atheist they had met, and the mom and dad were in their mid-50s and their son was 17 at the time). Today I can count the number of other black atheist that I’ve met on one hand – and as a side note: most black atheists will have nothing to do with black theists of any brand of delusion (most live Lonely lives).

THE NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY FOR BLACK NON-BELIEVERS, and black atheists wanting to meet other black atheist are not, not, not by any stretch racist – for years we have been trying to get the message out within the black communities that we’re here! That said, I can understand someone who doesn’t understand all the dynamics in play with this issue coming to such a conclusion.

Also as I said my dad was black, however, my mom was white – they married back in the 1950s – back at a time when a black man could find himself hanging from a tree simply for looking at a white women in the “wrong way.” And growing up in the 1960s and 70s, I experienced racism from both blacks and whites (I know what real racism feels like – this is not).

Yet my question is, why is it racist for whites to do a thing when it's not racist for blacks to do the exact same thing? If there was a national day for solidarity for white non-believers, people would be up in arms about it. Racism, like it or not, is racism no matter the skin color of the people involved. The word doesn't change meaning when the race of the individuals involved does. I have a problem with there even being a black community at all. There should be no black community, no white community, no Asian community, no Hispanic community, there should just be a human community and if the day was a national day of solidarity for non-believers, full stop, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Yet we treat blacks as if they are somehow special and deserve their own special days and I don't think that ought to be true. Certainly, they have faced their own unique challenges and have suffered through their own unique cultural problems as you describe, but isn't it time that everyone just joined together, no matter what their skin color, no matter what their gender, no matter what their sexual orientation, and were just people and embraced each other as equals?

"That means that where white people can’t simply want to be around white people, black people can’t simply want to be around black people."

Whereever did you get the idea that whites are prohibited from associating only with whites? They can do, and many often do, exactly this. Hell, you could, if you so chose, arrange your life to have virtually no contact with blacks. And no one would prosecute you for doing so. Furthermore, whites can choose to hang out with only whites and blacks can choose to hang out with only blacks if they choose. It is called the right of association. You have the right to associate with whomever you choose or not. Furthermore, I think you misinterpreted the Facebook page story which is the basis of your comment. I did not see anything on this page that implied that black atheists want to converse only with other black atheists.

Sure, they can do it, but if they stood up publically and advocated doing so, if they claimed that there was a white community where only whites were welcome, the blacks would scream bloody murder, yet when blacks do exactly that, when you get Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton standing up saying that blacks should get certain special rights and privileges because they are black, the liberals all stand around and cheer.

You take my words out of context. I never said that on that Facebook page, they made that claim. Please re-read it and make a legitimate comment if you care.

",,,when you get Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton standing up saying that blacks should get certain special rights and privileges because they are black,…"

What bullshit is this? When did Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton ever say such a thing? Cite an actual quote from either of them that supports this claim? Jackson and Sharpton have never demanded special rights or privileges for blacks. They have advocated the proposition that blacks should have the same rights and privileges as all other citizens. They have advocated the position that blacks should be treated no differently than other citizens when exercising their rights. They have advocated that where roadblocks and hurdles exist to them exercising the same rights, measures must be taken to remove those hurdles. This is not advocating for special rights and privileges. This is fighting for equal treatment and equal protection under the law.

"Yet my question is, why is it racist for whites to do a thing when it's not racist for blacks to do the exact same thing?"

Only you are the one claiming this. John_poson26 did not claim that it would be racist for whites to do the same thing. Blacks holding a Day of Solidarity for Black Non-believers is not a racist act. And it would not be a racist act if a group of whites got together and decided to hold a Day of Solidarity for White Non-believers, though given that atheism is much more common among whites I can't imagine why any whites would feel the need to do so.

"If there was a national day for solidarity for white non-believers, people would be up in arms about it."

Why don't you give it a try. If I am wrong and members of the black community call you racist for doing so, then I will join you in criticizing them. But until you do this you are railing against nothing other than a supposition held only in your head.

"…but isn't it time that everyone just joined together, no matter what their skin color, no matter what their gender, no matter what their sexual orientation, and were just people and embraced each other as equals?"

Let us know when this fantasy world actually exists. This is indeed what should be but it is not what actually exists. Prejudice and bigotry and the hatred upon which it is based still is very much with us. When it is gone, or so constrained that its influence is negligible, then talk of a single human community might make sense. But we have a great distance to travel before we arrive at such a place.